Process of manufacturing sheet-metal car-roof parts.



a 1 J. J. HOFFMAN. PROCESS OF MANUFACTURING SHEET METAL GAB. ROOF PARTS.

, ZAPYPLIOHATION FILED 001215, 1912. 1,092,486,

3 SHEETS-SHEET 1.

. atented Apr.'7,1 914 J. JJHOPPMAN.v PROCESS OF MANUFACTURING. SHEET METAL GAR ROOF PARTS.

' .APYPLIOATVION FILED 001215; 1912. 1,692,486v v I I v v Patented Apr. 7, 1914,

. 3 MEETS-$112M 2.

Q 7- y GM J. J. HOFFMAN.

GTURING SHEET METAL GAR R 00F, PAR S.

PROCESS or MANUFA APPLIOAT ION 21112120 115, 1912. 1,092,486..

PatentedApr. 7, 1914.

3 SHEEN-suns,

UNI ED STATES PATENT. onniou.

JOHN J. HOFFMAN, OF NEW KENSINGTON, PENNSYLVANIA, ASSIGNOR, BY MESNE ASSIGNMENTS, TO I. H. MURPHY COMPANY, OF PARNASSUS, PENNSYLVANIA, A

CORPORATION OF PENNSYLVANIA.

rnoenss'o'r MANUFACTURING sneer- ETAL CAR-noon PARTS.

To all whom it may] concern Be it known that I, JOHN J. Hormmn, a citizen of the United States, and a resident 'of'the city of New Kensington, county of Westmoreland, and State of Pennsylvania, have invented a new and useful Improvement in Processes of Manufaetu-ring Sheet-Metal Car-Roof Parts, of which the pear in connection with the description of the methods and apparatus hereinafter (lescrihed In the accompanying drawings, in which like nynihols are used to designate l ke parts wherever they appear,-l*igure 1 represents in plan View the ndol'the sheet-metalhlank.

from which the seam rover is to he formed, showing the shape to which the blank is cut in the notching operation; Figs. 2, '3 and iare top plan view, side elevatirni and endi'iow,"respectively, of the blank after it is formed up into trough shape; F251;. 4). (i and 7. a re top plan View, side elevation and end view, reepeetivelv, of the. blank after the crimping and [fattening operation; Figs. 8, l and '10 are top plan view, side elevation and end eleva. ion of lhe finished seani cover; Figs. 1.]. and I) are -side and rear elevation, respert-ively, ol' the upper crimping and flat} toning die; Figs. [3 and .l l are side and rear elevation. rcsporiivrly, of the lower rrinipng and flatteningdie; Fig, if is a t p plan view ol the'dio lied of the honding mavrhino, showing the gripping and bending dies in position to etart ihe. hending operzu tion, and Fig. lo is a similar \u-w SlHHVlDg the (lion in their respective positions at the.

end ol. the hendine' operation. 7

in nzanuhu'turing seam rovers; according o this invrnlion, the sheet metal is shear-d (H llllh soon-what l nger that [he linl is. ed article, and oi umt'orni width sulhelent llllllll ilnside walls are straight and )ar- Specification of Letters Patent. Application filed October 15, 1912'. Serial No. 725,841. 7

l' rni up into the desired trough shape,

Patented Apr. T. 191- or inclined outward toward their extremities.' The ends 11 of these strips-are non-lied out at. the corners, as shown inl ig. 1, by means of suitably shaped shearing dies in a "press, .The notches are deeper-at their inner angles or corners 12 than at the ends of the 'strip,'and.the inner angles 12 of the notches are positioned on the lines where the straight portions 13 and inclined por tions 14 of the sides of the trough'meet, and

at about the point wherethe bend between the top and sides of the seam cover and downturned endv portion 15 is to he. The seam cover is two formed into trough shape. as shown in Figs. 2, 3 and i, in suit ahle dies in a press, the flanges 16 along the lower edges of the inclined portions 14: of the sides being formed at the same opera tion. The next stepis the crimping and flattening of the ends of the seam cover into a shapwsuitahle 'lor hending'down. 'itis found to he diliicult, if not impossible to hend down the end of a sheet metal trough without rupturing the metal in the angle and hurkling the sides of the trough, unless yery thin or very ductilemetal is used. lleavy sheets of ordinary galvanized iron lornied into trough shape cannot he hent down at the ends like tin gutters, huthy first forming longitudinal folds or erin os ll e'v tending from the ends 15 of the Seam covers pant {he angles 12 ot the notches, at the same time flattening out the edges 18 of the ends 15, the ends thus shaped can no bent down Y without diiliculty.

Dies :21, 22, suitable for crimping and flattening the seam cover ends, are shown in Figs ii to 14. The lower die 22, is placed on the fixed platen of avertical' press, and the upper die 21. of the movable platen-. The end of the-seam cover placed on the lower die, straddling the central portion 23, and .with its end approximately flush with therear end i'aee 2' ol the die. The projection 25, on the upper die, will force the central portion oflthe end of the seam cover down into the groove secured to the under side 26in the lower die, and the flat portion 2'?- of the lower die will at the same time'spread and flatten out the edges 18. I

The last operation, bending down the ends of the seam cover, may he performed with a mullet (mar a suitably shaped anvil hlork, as when the .ends have been notched and crimped as already described there is no difficulty in bending; them. However, the means preferably employed for bending the ends eomprises mating gripping-dies 31, 32, arranged to'grip the seam cover" just short; of the point where the bendis to be made, and a pivotally mounted finger 38 adapted to press the projecting end 15 of tllQSGtllH cover around until it brings up against the edge 34 of the'gripper die 32. The finger has a projection :15 and thegripper die 32 has a recess 36 in its edge 3 corresponding to the crimp 17 in the end of the seam cover. The gripper die 11-1 is slidablymounted in a dovetail groove 3? in the bed plate 2'58, and a compression spring between the rear face otthe gripper die and a'fixed bracket 40 on the bed plate, tends to hold the gripper die against thestop 41 at the outer end of the dovetail slot. A cam shoulder 42 on the gripper die'ill engages with a cam projection &5 on the pivoted finger 33, and causes the latter to rotate toward the gripper dies when the die 31 is n'ioved away from the stop atlagainst the pressure of the spring 39. The bed "plate 38 is mounted on the frame of a bulldozer, or horizontal press, to the ram or moving platen 46 01 which the gripper die is secured. v l

The operation of the apparatus is as follows: The dies bein in the position shown in Fig. 15, the cm of the seam cover'is run through the gripper die 81 until it strikes the adjustable stop 44, which will position the point at which the bond is to be made at the back edge of the die. The machine is set in operation and the die 2-32 is advanced against the die 31 and grips the seam cover. v[Further movement of the die 32 carries the seam cover and die 31 back toward the bracket at), and at the same time the shoulder 42 on the die 31. causes the finger to swing against theend of the seam cover and bend it around against the edge of the die 32, as shown in Fig. 1.6. This completes the bending operation, and the die 32 is retracted, allowing the die ilj and finger 33 to return to their normal positions, whereupon the finished seam cover can be 5 withdrawn from the machine,

Although I have shown and particularly described certain forms of apparatus for carrying out my invention, my invention, is not limited to the apparatus, but relates to the methods used, and to the operations performechjn carrying out my invention, as set forth in the claims. v

I claim the following:

1. In the manufacture of sheetmetal car l roofing parts, notching the corners of a suit- 'able blank. bending the side margins of said blank to term it to trough shape, flatten- 39' arranged ing and longitudinally crimping the ends of said trough-shaped blank, and bending over said crimped portions at the inner corners of said notches to close the ends of the trough. v 4

2. In the manufacture of sheet-metal car rooting parts, notching the corners oli a s1aitableblank, said notches being deeper at their inner corners than at their outereuds,

bendingthe side margins of said blank to form it to trough shape, flattcnhig and longitudinally crimping the ends of said trough-shaped blank, and bending over said crimpcd portions at the inner corners of said notches to close theends of the trough.

3. The process of-n'ianufacturing sheetmetal car roof parts comprising the following operations, first notehing the corners of a strip of sheet metal, second, bending the nnirgins of said-strip to form the latter'to the shape of a trough, the depth of the sides of said trough beinggreater than the depth of said notches, third, flattening out the side walls of said trough at their ends and crimping its narrow end portions longitudh metal car roof parts comprising the following operations, first, notching the corners of a strip of? sheet metal, said notches being deeper at their inner corners than at their outer ends, second, bending the margins of said strip to form the latter to the shape of a trough, third, flattening out the side walls of said trough-at their ends and crimpin its narrow end portions longitudinally, and fourth, bending over said crimped ends at the inner corners of said notches into planes transverse to said side walls.

5. The process of mani'ifacturing sheetmetal car roof parts comprising the following operations, first notchine the corners of a strip of sheet metal said notches being deeper at their inner-corners than at their outer ends, second, bending the margins of i said strip to term the latter to the shape of a trough, the depth of the sides of said trough being greater than the depth of said notches, third, flattening out the side walls of said trough at their ends and crimping its narrow end portions longitudinally, and fourth, bending over said crimped ends at the inner corners of said notches into planes transverse to said side walls.

, Signed at New Kensingtou, Pennsylvania,

this 10 day of Oct, ltlil.

JOHN J. HOFFMAN.

Witnesses HARRY C. VALLEY, A. A. Por'rs. 

